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There was a time when it appeared we had a few people on city council who believed in lower taxes and fiscal austerity.

Not many, but it seemed like we had a handful.

It’s become very clear in recent weeks, though, that was just a mirage — wishful thinking on the part of anyone who believed fiscal conservatives had a few dogs in the fight at 510 Main St.

They don’t. Those dogs are lambs, and city hall is going down the toilet.

Mayor Sam Katz has been a lost cause for several years now. He came into the mayor’s office with great hope of cutting the fat at city hall, keeping taxes frozen, and getting better value from existing revenues for taxpayers.

Within a couple of years, Katz began to show his true colours and presided over a massive increase to the city’s workforce. Salaries and benefits at the city jumped 23% from 2007 to 2011. And Katz has raised property taxes for the past three years straight. Katz had promised to eliminate the business tax but he reneged on that too.

I don’t know what kind of politician Katz is, but he’s not a fiscal conservative.

Coun. Grant Nordman (St. Charles) was supposed to be some type of fiscal conservative, or at least that’s how he branded himself when he entered municipal politics. He’s a Progressive Conservative. But he doesn’t appear to have a fiscal conservative bone in his body. He was one of several councillors who bellied up to the trough this past week claiming council was entitled to a $600,000 increase to its ward slush funds. In Nordman’s world, councillors are entitled to their entitlements.

I’ve never heard the councillor for St. Charles take up the fight against the city’s bulging bureaucracy. I haven’t heard him argue against city council’s decision to raid the sewer and water utility every year to help pad city hall’s coffers. And he’s been an ardent supporter of property tax increases. There’s nothing fiscally responsible about this guy.

Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) has tried to fashion himself as a bit of a fiscal conservative. I’ve never seen any evidence of it though. He celebrated this year’s tax increase with great enthusiasm and said it was great policy.

And what about Coun. Scott Fielding (St. James-Brooklands), our last line of defence in the fight against higher taxes and bigger government at city hall? Apparently the leftist winds blowing through council chambers have put a chill on Fielding too.

Fielding, also a Progressive Conservative, beat out incumbent Jae Eadie in St. James-Brooklands and ran on a ticket to bring fiscal conservative values to city hall. He chaired the 2007 Economic Opportunities Commission, spoke in favour of eliminating the business tax and was — until recently — always opposed to jacking up property taxes.

But all that has changed. Fielding voted this past week in favour of another property tax hike, an increase to the ward slush fund and the creation of a new political office that will cost taxpayers $722,000 a year.

Where is the real Scott Fielding and what has Sam Katz done with him?

Coun. Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood-Tuxedo) got punted from executive policy committee this past week by Katz for speaking out against tax hikes and beefed-up slush funds. Will she be the only one left on council to stand up for fiscal responsibility at city hall?

We’ll find out.

In the meantime, fiscal conservatives in this city have very little in the way of representation at city hall. Hopefully next year’s municipal election will change that.

We need some real business-minded folks who aren’t afraid to stand up to the bureaucracy and who will ensure taxpayers get good value for their money. Because right now, we don’t have that. Not even close.

As Advertised in the Winnipeg SUN

No biz-minded folks left at city hall

There was a time when it appeared we had a few people on city council who believed in lower taxes and fiscal austerity.

Not many, but it seemed like we had a handful.

It’s become very clear in recent weeks, though, that was just a mirage — wishful thinking on the part of anyone who believed fiscal conservatives had a few dogs in the fight at 510 Main St.

They don’t. Those dogs are lambs, and city hall is going down the toilet.

Mayor Sam Katz has been a lost cause for several years now. He came into the mayor’s office with great hope of cutting the fat at city hall, keeping taxes frozen, and getting better value from existing revenues for taxpayers.

Within a couple of years, Katz began to show his true colours and presided over a massive increase to the city’s workforce. Salaries and benefits at the city jumped 23% from 2007 to 2011. And Katz has raised property taxes for the past three years straight and reneged on eliminating the business tax.